1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to polyfunctional automatic massagers which can perform at least 5 kinds of massaging movement through the action of only 2 kinds of motive power. That is, the massager has a mechanism which can perform two kinds of massaging actions such as a finger pressing movement and a rubbing treatment by one motive power and, at the same time, have a raising and lowering mechanism, which makes possible the above movements to be coupled with a raising and lowering motion provided by another motive power. These mechanisms are installed in a chair as a polyfunctional device, which allows the user to select one of five different actions, ordinary rubbing and finger pressing motions, a rolling, a rolling rub, and a rolling finger pressing motions. Thus, with this invention, it becomes possible for the user to select their favorite massage actions against their body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previous automatic massagers were common in their actions of rubbing and rapping against the user's body by a pair of rubbing balls of an electric massage mechanism installed inside the back of a chair.
In the chair-type automatic massagers of the previously invented massagers, some had a motor-driven mechanism for raising and lowering of a rubbing ball mechanism by rotating a tapping spindle installed vertically in the back of a chair in a forward or reverse direction. The users were able to receive a massage by rubbing and rapping motions against all areas of their backs using the massage mechanism having the raising and lowering mechanism.
In recent years, in place of the above-mentioned rubbing and rapping movements, other functions such as rolling and finger pressing motions have been demanded as functions of massagers. Therefore, in order to satisfy the need for rolling and finger pressing movements, massagers which are able to do, in addition to rubbing and rapping actions, a rolling movement with turning rollers around the human back area and along the spinal cord by setting a pair of free turning rollers bilaterally, in place of a pair of rubbing balls which could perform only rubbing and rapping motions, and by making these rollers move up and down, have been developed.
It has been found that, for the above-mentioned massagers having an additional finger pressing movement, it is possible to develop massagers having polyfunctional movements such as rolling and finger pressing ones, in addition to rubbing and rapping movements, by setting up a separate motor for the finger o pressing action in addition to a motor for rubbing and rapping motions.
However, although a massager having free turning bilateral rollers installed inside the back of a chair, in place of the rubbing balls for rubbing and rapping motions, having rollers which move continuously up and down, has been developed, although it could provide a rolling motion, it could not provide any finger pressing treatment. Therefore, in order to obtain a massager with polyfunctional movements by improving the above massager, it is necessary to install an additional motor inside the back of the chair. However, it is practically impossible to add functionality by increasing the number of motors because the back of a chair becomes too heavy to stand without falling backward, especially when the back of the chair is in an oblique position. Hence, it is dangerous to make such a chair.
While considering the above-mentioned situation, many studies intending on obtaining polyfunctional automatic massagers without increasing the number of motors having been performed, but the development of such massagers satisfying the user's request, which are driven by one motor to give a finger pressing and a rapping motion in combination with a massaging motion which moves up and down vertically along the back of a chair, have been unsuccessful.